Chapter Seventeen Judson
Chapter Seventeen
Judson
I scrolled through my contacts until I found the private number for the state forensic department director. We’d swapped numbers last year at a law enforcement conference when we’d discussed a potential panel.
I’d never called the director at home before. But I needed answers.
“Judson?” His voice was slightly slurred—Sunday beers at a backyard barbecue, if I had to guess.
“You’ve been talking to Ken Watson about my case.” Subtlety wasn’t in me now.
Silence. He was calculating, scrambling a defense. Being two months from retirement, he wasn’t worried about the job—just his pension. “He’s represented a few of our guys in court. Saved them from a bad outcome. He called in a favor.”
Ken had earned loyalty the old-fashioned way. Saving asses. “Ken isn’t associated with the case. And I don’t have the tox screens yet.”
“A technician should’ve called you this morning.”
“No one called.” I leaned back, eyes on a cheap print of the Virginia mountains, inherited with the office. I’d kept it because it filled the space. “Not yet. Why don’t you fill me in, since you’ve already briefed Ken?”
“Ken doesn’t have the final report.”
“But you do?”
“Just got it.”
“And?”
“I’m at home. I don’t have the results in front of me.”
“But you can give me an overview.”
A sigh leaked over the laughter of others in the background. The squeak of a chair and then the sense he was moving to a more private spot. “Maria Hale Cooper Durant’s system had toxic levels of hydrogen cyanide.”
I leaned forward. Cyanide. “She was poisoned.”
“Yes. We found traces of the same substance on the two wineglasses your team collected from the Durant house.”
“Both glasses? Her husband showed no symptoms.”
“He probably didn’t ingest much—if at all. Bigger guy. More body fat. Her glass was empty. She’s smaller, very lean.”
“Maria Durant collapsed at the sink. She could’ve dumped her glass out.”
“You might be right. You’ll have to ask her when she wakes up.”
“Any other test details I need to be aware of?”
“That’s the big one. DNA found on and in her body is still being tested.”
“Okay. Send me the final report as soon as you can.”
“Sure.”
“Unless you hear from me, Ken isn’t to be consulted. He knows Maria and Gabe Durant.” I already considered the marriage done.
“Right.” The way he dragged out the word suggested the fact had landed hard. “You’re my point of contact.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
I ended the call, grabbed my hat, and informed the agents I was headed back to the hospital.
When I arrived on Maria’s floor, I stopped at the nurses’ station and asked for Dr. Webber to call me.
In Maria’s room, I pushed back the curtain and found Raine sitting at her side. She was reading her phone and chatting to Maria as if they were getting coffee. When she saw me, she locked her phone and rose.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you,” I said. “Thought you were meeting with the contractor.”
“I did. He’s adding up the enormous numbers.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t feel like such a big priority. What brings you here? Everything all right?”
“I have an appointment with Dr. Webber.”
“Why?”
“When I can tell you, I will.”
Raine’s gaze drifted to her cousin’s pale face. Though Maria was unconscious, Raine seemed to be mindful that she might still hear what was said.
“Maria was poisoned, wasn’t she?”
“I’ll leave you with Maria,” I said.
Distance helped. Or so I told myself. I thought I’d left Raine in the past, but ever since she’d come back, the old mistakes, joys, kept replaying.
Back when I was obsessed with football, I’d been unprepared for anything resembling an adult relationship.
I was now older, supposedly wiser, but I wasn’t feeling more prepared.
“I don’t like this,” she said.
“No one does.” I left the room.
Dr. Webber strode toward me. Dark-rimmed glasses magnified steady blue eyes, nonplussed by my arrival. “Agent Blackwood. What can I do for you?”
I lowered my voice. “I just spoke to the state lab. Maria Durant was poisoned. There were high levels of cyanide in her blood.”
Her breath caught. “That would cause dizziness, headache, and in extreme cases heart attack.”
“I’m telling you because it may influence Maria’s treatment.”
“I’ll run more blood work and check the levels. Cyanide can linger in the system.” She sighed. “There’s another complication. She has a faulty heart valve. The issue wasn’t in her medical records.”
“Undiagnosed?”
“Exactly. If this hadn’t happened, she might have lived for years without symptoms.”
“What’s that mean for her recovery?”
“A healthy, functioning heart could have withstood this. With her situation, I don’t know.”
“Options?”
“The damage is done. However, her vitals are stronger this morning. She’s not awake, but her body is trying to recover.”
“She could still die?”
“Plenty can still go wrong. I’ll know more after the next round of scans.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
When I turned, Raine stood outside Maria’s room—arms folded, that polite, brittle smile she wore when she was stressed. Back then, it had made me feel helpless. Still did.
Raine walked toward me. Her face was scrubbed clean, her hair pulled back in a thick ponytail just as it was when we dated.
“You get it all squared away?” she asked.
“I did.”
“I spoke to Dr. Webber an hour ago. Maria is stable, but it’s anyone’s guess if she fully recovers.”
“Okay.”
“You aren’t going to tell me what’s going on?”
“No.” I shifted. “Ken stuck his nose too deep into this investigation.”
“He wants something unrelated to Maria. Give it a day or two, and he’ll show his hand.” Fists in her pockets, she took a step away from the room.
“Keep me posted on Ken,” I said.
“Sure.”
“Not a request, Raine.”
A small, careful grin. “I didn’t think so. If I find out anything worthwhile, you’ll be my first call.”
Her gait was slightly uneven as she walked toward the elevators. When the doors opened, she stepped inside and pressed the button. She didn’t look up as the doors closed.